Their Excellencies Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul with the editorial staff of La Presse, the 2003 Michener Award winner. The photo was taken following a ceremony at Rideau Hall, Thursday, April 15, 2004.
Seated left to right; Agnès Gruda, Deputy Director of Information; André Noël, journalist; Governor General Adrienne Clarkson; His Excellency John Ralston Saul; Philippe Cantin, Vice-president and Deputy Editor, La Presse; and Philippe-Denis Richard, Vice-President, Legal Affairs.
The Montreal Daily won the 2003 Michener Award for an investigation into residential and long-term care centres for the elderly and a second series of articles about the wrongful treatment of patients at a hospital in Montreal.
The distinction between this and other media awards is primarily the emphasis on the degree of arm’s-length public benefit that is generated. Journalistic excellence alone is not enough. Other criteria include the resources available to the news organization – an effort to level the playing field for small, medium, and large-size organizational applicants.